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Jason had been staring into the eyes of the older teen; he had to be Eric, but something was different. He looked like Eric in every way, except his eye color.
“Are you…?” Jason began to ask, but the teen cut him off by answering his unspoken question.
“No I'm not Eric; I'm his twin brother. I’m Matt, and you must be Jason. It's nice to meet ya.”
Jason was confused, he couldn’t think straight but managed to speak up. “I…I…I think so too…but what’s going on?”
Matt chuckled at Jason’s confused look, “How do I explain this…” He sighed then continued, “I’m from the future, a future that has been corrupted. It had to do with my abduction when I was just an infant and then the kidnapping of Eric; really threw everything out of whack. If the timeline in the past isn’t repaired soon and if Eric isn’t back where he should be, evil will take over. You see, Eric is the only one with the power to stop them, but he can’t do it alone. Yes, he has his younger brothers, but they need someone to look up to. I’m not sure if you know, but there are many more kids on earth who have similar abilities to you, Eric, and me. Right now, everything that is happening where Eric is, affects everything. Sooner or later, he will escape, but it won’t be easy. I shouldn’t say too much, but somehow, I feel as if this has happened before. I've been around here for a long time, and I've never seen time hinge on one event so strongly before. I know I don't look it, but I'm getting close to 300 years old. This is the oddest time phenomenon I've witnessed. I’m sure you’re wondering why I look young. The reason is simple: my kidnappers, the Dark Council, injected some sort of ‘anti-aging agent’ into me when I was no older than 13. They told me I age 1 year for every 50 years. As you can see, I may appear to look 19, but I’m really 300 years old. Eric has been injected with the same serum; I kinda forgot how he reacted to it, but I’m not worried. Anyway, the serum changes your genetic code a little and it can also be passed on to offspring, however they will not age at the same rate you do. I think Eric would want you to live as long as he does.” Matt dug into one of the pockets in his uniform and pulled out three samples of serum he had been holding onto and handed them to Jason. They appeared to look like the size of a thick silver ballpoint pen with a small red button on the side. “Here, take these. If you want, I can inject the serum now, since we are here, but that is your decision.”
**Hmmm…Dark Council…anti-aging agents…time travel…** Jason sighed as he thought deeply for several long minutes before speaking up again. “The more I think of it, the more I wonder if living for so long will be worth it. But who is the Dark Council?”
Matt frowned at the mention of the Dark Council. “I’d rather not talk about the Dark Council. Too many painful memories, but you’ll eventually find out.” Matt sighed as he thought for a moment then pushed aside all thoughts on the Dark Council, “Anyway, like I said, that’s up to you. It can be worth it if you make the best of it.” Matt smiled as he finished his last statement.
Jason returned his smile, “All right, I’ll do it.” He reached for the serum but only took two. “I’m guessing these are for your younger brothers?”
“Yep, but they’re too young. Let them make that decision when they’re a bit older. Make sure you hide the serum, but somehow, I think mom will eventually find out. No worries, it’s a good thing.” As Matt was talking to Jason, the injection was complete.
“Wow, didn’t feel a thing.”
“These are special and don’t require needles. They’re quite nice, but once the injection is finished, they’re useless and the technology within is destroyed. Before I forget, you might look like you have a cold to some, which is normal. The symptoms only last for 24 hours.”
As Matt finished the last sentence, another ripple formed not too far from where they stood. Another white being exited the ripple.
As the white being approached Matt and Jason, he began to remove his mask. Once the mask was off, Jason’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“Aha! I thought I’d find you here. Hi Jason, its kinda odd seeing my younger self here, but I need to talk to Matt. Sorry for the shock!”
Jason couldn’t even form words. The older Jason appeared to look very much like the younger Jason, but he appeared to be cheerful.
“Hey Matt, I see you already gave him the serum.” Older Jason turned his attention to his younger self after speaking with Matt, “You won’t regret this Jason, it has been worth it!”
Jason hesitated before he could find the words. “Thanks….I think. This is sooooo weird and coool!”
Matt and older Jason chuckled at the same time. Matt turned his attention to older Jason, “What’s up?”
“I’ve done what you asked me to. I don’t think Eric recognized me, but he sure did recognize my younger self in the heat of battle. Everything is working according to how the events went. This all might change when you and Eric are returned to their normal time.”
Matt gave Jason a confused look, “What do you mean me? I’m too old to go back!”
“Huh?” Jason scratched his head before realizing his mistake in his wording, “ooohhhh! I meant your younger self.”
Matt nodded, “Aahhh! Okay, good. As painful as it might have been for us at that time, maybe this time things will be different. I think we should get Jason back before he is missed, of course, since time has no meaning in this place and we can return him at the exact same moment he left the room, then again, I did say I’d return him 5 minutes later.” Matt thought for a few moments, “Can you keep an eye on Eric? It might help if you did.”
“Sounds good and I will.” Older Jason said.
“Umm….guys…I’m still here, ya know?” Younger Jason said with a hint of being left out.
“Don’t worry, Jason, everything will be ok. If there isn’t anything else, it’s time to go.”
“There is nothing else, Matt…” Jason looked down at his shoes then back up before continuing, “Maybe one more thing; Will I see you again?”
Matt turned to face the younger Jason. “Yup! But it won’t be me.” He walked over to Jason then punched in a few commands on his arm pad and a ripple began to form behind him. He put his mask back on then asked, “Ready?”
“I think so…” Jason said nervously.
“Okay! Here we go! See ya around, Jason!” Matt shot back to the older Jason who was watching them disappear into the ripple.
Once Matt and younger Jason disappeared, older Jason put his mask back on and punched in a few commands in his arm pad. A ripple formed and he stepped into it to return to keep an eye on Eric. The ripple disappeared from the white void and all was quiet.
Jason and Matt appeared in his bedroom after a ripple formed. Instead of it collapsing, it stayed open.
“I must go now; my dad should be right outside the door.” Matt said in a hurry. “Take care, Jason, and hide those!” Matt was pointing to the serum Jason was holding as he stepped back into the ripple. The ripple closed just as the door swung open.
Jason quickly hid the serum as the door opened to Jerry standing at the doorframe. “What’s taking you so long, Jas?”
Trying to hide his surprise look, “Oh uhh, I needed to straighten out a few things so I don’t forget them later.”
Jerry gave Jason a funny look and shook his head. “Okay, but ya better get downstairs before the ladies raise hell about us spending too much time up here.”
“Yes sir.” Jason said doing a mock salute.
Jerry chuckled and headed out into the hall. The twins were still sitting on the edge of the steps when they turned their attention to their dad.
“Okay, munchkins, lets head down. Jason will be on his way.”
The boys just giggled then headed downstairs. Jerry chuckled and shook his head at their amusement. He stood there for a moment then followed the twins.
Jason sighed as he heard Jerry’s receding footsteps. **That was close! Now…where to put these…** He thought to himself.
Jason found a small box of his journal entries from under his bed and opened it. **This should be good, no one really looks in here. ** He placed the serum into the box then covered it up and hid it back under the bed.
**Time to give mom and Trish a hand with breakfast. ** Jason thought as he made his way out of his room towards the steps.
The ladies were busy preparing to make breakfast when the twins walked in followed by Jerry. They didn’t bother looking up till Jason entered moments later.
Trish spoke first noticing something different about Jason, “Jason, are you all right?”
“Huh?”
“Out with it young man, you know very well you can’t hide things from me.” Trish spoke in a serious but commanding tone.
“Which part…?” Jason said in a jokingly tone.
“JASON!” Trish and Joyce shouted at the same time. This brought everyone else’s attention to the kitchen, even the twins.
Jason sighed, “Okay, just don’t bite my head off, this’ll take some time. Trish you might wanna sit, you too, mom.”
“I think we’ll stand for this with breakfast in the works.” Trish said rapidly.
“Okay, don’t tell me I didn’t warn ya…” Jason was trying his best to form the words, but nothing was coming out. He decided to take one issue at a time, hoping it would make things easier. “Well…I spoke with your son…” Jason was immediately interrupted by Trish’s shouting.
“YOU DID WHAT?! HOW? WHEN? WHERE?”
“Honey, please, let the boy finish.” Jerry said after his wife’s rapid-fire questions.
“It wasn’t Eric…” Jason said as Trish once again interrupted him.
“Honeeeeeyyyyyyy…” Jerry said with emphasis.
“Okay, Jer, I’ll give him a break, but I find this all hard to believe!”
Jason was getting more nervous of how Trish would react if he mentioned Matt to her. He knew he had to tell her the truth. “It was Matt…he took me to a place where time doesn’t exist.” Jason barely managed to choke out the last part of his statement.
“That can’t be!” Trish exclaimed. “He had been presumed dead after…” Trish suddenly stopped speaking as she struggled to remember the events that took place 13 years ago. “Oh my god! I remember the day I gave birth to my boys and I remember seeing something standing in front of my bed, but I thought it was my imagination.”
“It wasn’t your imagination. In fact it was me who was standing there that day.” A voice spoke coming from the living room causing everyone in the kitchen to jump. A white figure then walked into view from the living room. He took his mask off to the crowd of eyes who looked upon him.
“Mommy, who's dat? Andy and Ryan asked at the same time.
“I…need… to sit.” Trish stammered while fumbling to find a spot to sit before she could no longer stand straight.
Trish took a few moments to herself as everyone was looking at her making sure she was ok. Jerry was puzzled as he did not recognize the stranger in front of him.
“This is…my…our..son…Matt.”
“WHAT?!” Jerry said in complete shock.
“Its true, dad. Wow, you all sure look different.”
Trish stumbled from her chair and nearly ran over to Matt, embracing him with all the love he had been denied since his cruel abduction. Jerry, having taken a second or two to fully grasp what was happening, also made his way over to them, and the three stood for some time, just enjoying the closeness.
A matter of minutes felt like an eternity to Trish and Jerry as they continued to hold Matt in a bear hug. Trish finally broke away to wipe the tears. Jerry followed Trish’s lead then moved to stand beside his wife for comfort.
“How is this possible?” Joyce asked. She shook her head before asking a few more questions, “You look really young to be wearing such a uniform. You can't be more than 17 or 18, how could we look so different?”
“Aaah…” Matt started. “Simply put, time travel. I carry a device, which enables me to travel through time to any point, any place, wherever I want. There are a few restrictions, but somehow this was meant to happen.” Matt shifted his attention from Joyce to Trish, “Mom, it is really good to see you, but I am 300 years old. I was injected with some experimental serum the Dark Council was attempting to prolong life. Sadly, everything eventually comes to an end, but I do have many years ahead of me. First, I should let Jason tell you, but this was his decision and I’ll say it for him; I gave him some of the serum. He will have a long life, just like me. Mom, Jason has two more serums for my younger brothers when the time comes. They are very much needed for everything to change in the future; they just don’t know it yet.”
Jason was about to run upstairs but paused for a moment. “I’ll be back.” He took off to his bedroom to only be back in a moments notice carrying a small box with him. As he walked towards Trish, he opened the box and pulled out the two serums Matt gave him and handed them to Trish. She took her time staring at them before taking them from Jason’s hand.
“Will Jason be ok?” Jack asked wondering if there were any side effects.
“Yes, the next 24 hours are a tad painful as his system undergoes some changes. Oh, I forgot to mention that we heal a lot faster than normal, which is a plus, but sadly we can’t regenerate a lost limb.” Matt said chuckling. “I haven’t lost anything and neither did Eric. Don’t worry, he will be home as will I. It’ll be awkward at first, but we will eventually get through it and become a family once again. Mom, Dad, if you’re wondering about Eric living as long as me, the answer is yes…and he needs Jason’s help. These two are inseparable.”
“Ain’t that the truth!” Joyce said loud enough to wake the dead. Everyone had a good laugh at that and the grin on Jason’s face just confirmed their theory.
Matt sighed, “One last thing before I go, whatever the investigators tell you, just try and act how you normally would. Oh and this is our last meeting, ever. The next time, it’ll really be Eric and me to stay. I can’t say when, only that, you’ll find out on your own! Love ya all! Bye!”
Matt placed his mask on and waved to the shocked audience watching him enter the ripple that had formed behind him. The twins were in awe and waving back at their older brother, as was Jason.
Once the ripple closed, Jason turned his attention to Trish and his mom. “Any questions?”
“Smart ass!” All adults said in unison. Andy and Ryan just looked around with question marks wondering what it meant. Trish paid no attention to them as she digested the new information in.
“Well son…” Jack began as he shifted his attention from Trish and his wife to Jason, “Since the ladies are left speechless, I’ll speak for them when I ask if you’ll be able to handle the so called side effects?”
“Guess we’ll find out soon enough!” Jason smiled wondering what side effects Matt really meant.
“Kids…always want to try something new these days!”
“Hey! I resent that!”
Everyone but the twins and Jason roared in laughter breaking the stale mood.
“Ok, guys! Let's finish breakfast! I can hear a pair of stomachs growling. If they aren’t fed, I’m afraid to find out what’ll happen!” Jerry said after hearing a growl from the twins.
“I’ll help.” Jason added. “What did you need help with again?”
Trish finally managed to form words for the first time after several minutes of silence, “Oh! The bacon and toast, please.”
Jason grinned, walked over to the stove, and set the burner to medium. Everyone took that as their cue to get back to the normal routine of things.
About an hour later after a good breakfast, Jason went to his room to add a log entry into his journal while everyone else stayed downstairs to help clean up before doing some shopping.
I get to live almost forever! I wonder if life will become boring living that long.
It has been an interesting turn of events, Matt, long life, white void, and an older version of me. I just want to see Eric so bad, it pains me to know he is alive and so far out of reach. Hurry home Eric!
I’m going shopping with everyone today. For some unknown reason, I get a feeling the Shannons are moving back here. I wanted to ask them several times during breakfast, but something tells me they will announce it soon. I wonder if this is a side effect of the serum or a new ability.
Again, I can’t wait to see Eric and Matt! Oh wait, I have! But he’s so much older, yet he looks young! Should be fun!
I’d better hurry up before everyone leaves without me. There are a few things I wanted to get for Eric and myself.
Tada!
Love Jason.
Sid had been monitoring Eric for quite some time; however he couldn’t get into his thoughts. He had to be real close to Eric if he really wanted to look into his head deep enough to see what he had been hiding. Sid decided to check things out and proceeded to walk towards Eric’s room. Upon arriving, he exchanged nods with Rob, which let him know Sid is going to enter Eric’s room. Rob punched in a few commands and the door slid open. Sid had a mischievous grin plastered on his face as he entered the room.
As the door slid shut, Eric screamed. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
Rob chuckled, “Gunna be interesting this time!”
Two hours later, Sid exited the room with a disappointed look on his face. **Damn, I may need the council’s help with this. That reminds me I need to contact them anyway. ** He thought, then turned his attention to Rob, “Rob, wake the brat at the normal time, he’s sleeping now, but give him some medical attention in the morning, he’s gunna need it.”
“Aye sir.” Rob said.
Sid, being satisfied with almost everything, walked off towards his room to retire for the night. He had a long day ahead of him once morning arrived.
Rob sighed, **Jeez, Sid, cut the kid some slack a bit. Sure he’s ours, no, more like yours, but that doesn’t mean you have to torture the poor kid to near death! One of these days, he’ll eventually give you a taste of your own medicine, and it won’t be a pleasant sight! As much as I detest kids and hate following Sid’s orders, I almost feel bad for Eric, but there is nothing I can do for him. **
After Rob finished his thoughts, he unlocked the door and entered to check out the damage. The sight of a severely bruised and naked Eric was horrendous, the room smelled horrible from sex, crap, and blood. “Oh shit, he needs medical attention now, damn it Sid!” Rob muttered as he hurried to cover up Eric and carry him to the med bay.
The doors slid open as Rob carried a severely injured Eric over to the medical tables. One of the medical staff alerted the Doctor to the situation and he arrived at the med bay within minutes. Upon his arrival, the Doc gasped at the sight of Eric and immediately went to work.
“Lemme guess, Sid again?” The Doc asked Rob as he proceeded to tend to Eric’s wounds.
“Yep, Sid didn’t appear to be happy as he normally does when he leaves Eric’s room.” Rob said softly.
“Damn him. The more he keeps doing this, the worse it gets. I don’t know why this kid is still alive or what is keeping him alive. Chances are if it gets any worse than this, he could end up killing him!”
“Jason.” Eric muttered softly then lost consciousness again.
Rob and the Doc exchanged looks as they wondered who this Jason was then shrugged it off. “Chase, lemme know when I can take him back. I’ll probably have to carry him again, not that I mind it. Good luck.”
Doc Chase just nodded as he worked on tending Eric’s wounds. Rob left the room to return to his post outside of Eric’s room so no one would miss him as he had somewhat broken Sid’s orders, however Sid had always commented on a job well done for protecting his ‘investment’.
The doors slide open and Sid walked in muttering a few words to himself when he noticed a message waiting for him on the view screen to his left. He walked over and pressed a button on the panel to activate the message. His eyes grew wide once the image of a dark uniformed man came into view.
“Damn, last time I saw this was when I captured Eric and they were here in a few hours.” Sid talked to himself out loud then looked at the time stamp and gasped. “Shit, no time for sleep! Those fuckers work too damn fast for me; I’d better prepare myself and the ship for their arrival!” He pressed another button on the panel and spoke into the air as if he was contacting someone, “Bridge, prepare ship for the council’s arrival! You have one hour!” Sid didn’t bother waiting for a response and immediately went for a quick shower. He completely forgot about Eric as he had other important things on his mind.
One hour later, Sid stood in the shuttle bay awaiting the council’s arrival. After pacing back and fourth on the ground, he looked up just in time to see a black shuttle approaching the bay. Once it had landed and the door opened, out stepped one tall man, and what looked to be a boy, about the same height as Eric. Both were dressed in full black uniforms, their faces were completely covered.
“Members of the Council, Welcome to the Vulture.” Sid took a few steps forward and bowed. “I trust your journey was a safe one.”
The tall council member spoke for both of them, “As usual, Sid. I’ve received a report of your latest mission. I wanted to see what happened down there for myself. I trust Eric is still alive?”
The expression on Sid’s face went from surprise to sudden shock once Eric was mentioned, but he quickly adjusted his shocked expression to a straight face, “He is alive and well. What surprises me more about this, is the so called being who rescued him, it has me rather intrigued! I have tried scanning his mind, but for some odd reason, it resists me. I…” Sid’s voice trailed off as a voice over the intercom interrupted them.
“Sid, Chase here, you better get down to the med bay now if you want to see how your ‘investment’ is doing.”
Sid growled as his face grew red with anger at the Doc for mentioning such a thing with the council onboard.
“So, Eric is injured…” The tall dark figure paused for a few moments before fixing his gaze on Sid, “Tell me, how bad did you abuse the boy just to pry the events on Cast’arr from his mind?”
Sid couldn’t answer or come up with an answer, as he knew he was caught. There was no hiding your thoughts from the council, or a council member.
The short dark figure stepped forward, “Quite bad, sir.”
“I see. Sid, take us to the med bay.” The dark figure spoke flatly.
Sid growled and turned to face the doors leading to the main part of the ship. “Right this way, follow me.”
A few minutes later, the trio was entering the med bay. Sid shot Chase a dirty look that said he wanted a word with him later for the earlier remark then shifted his glare to Eric, who was lying on the medical bed sleeping.
“Just as a warning, don’t get too close.” Chase said.
“How disrespectful, be mindful of your manners with the council here!” The younger dark being sounding harsh, started moving towards Dr. Chase, as if to punish him. He got too close to Eric as he walked by however, and it caused Eric’s body to respond and emit white sparks around him to prevent anyone from causing Eric any more harm.
The Doc just shook his head as everyone gasped.
Sid got furious and attempted to choke Eric, but he got electrocuted and thrown 10 feet back, but landed on his feet after gaining some control of his movements while airborne.
The taller dark being chuckled, “My, isn’t he something? Too bad he is yours, Sid, unless the unforeseeable happens and you cease to exist, then we’ll claim young Eric. For the time being, I need to scan him myself.” The dark being slowly walked towards Eric, stretching out his arms as if to perform some sort of mind communication. He had his eyes closed as he approached Eric. After several minutes had passed by, The dark being let out a frustrated sigh and attempted to touch Eric, which only got him his own shock treatment. The intensity of the shock was greater than what Sid was dealt with.
“Aahhh!” The dark being yelled in pain as he pulled himself away from Eric. “Damn, that kid has more power than I originally thought.” He looked at Eric one last time before looking at his burnt hands then to Sid. “I see you have trained him well, perhaps, a little too well.”
Sid let a sly smirk loose as he looked upon Eric then at the smaller dark being that was walking closer to him. Sid was about to protest, but the taller being held out his arm, signaling Sid to wait.
As the shorter council member walked towards Eric, his breathing increased. Something about Eric surprised him to a degree; he had to telepathically transmit his thoughts with the taller being. **Permission to remove my mask, Master Spike? **
**The only reason you’d want to do that is if you actually know him. Do you realize Sid can come after you if he knew who you are? Are you willing to risk that? You may hold council rank and out rank Sid, but Sid is far more powerful than you. **
**It’s a risk I’m willing to take and Eric kinda looks like me. **
**Say what?! Are you sure, Matt? **
**Come, look. See for yourself. **
Matt slowly removed his mask and observed Sid’s reaction as his eyes went wide and mouth fell to the floor. Matt shifted his attention from Sid to Eric and looked at him closer. Spike slowly removed his mask after gauging Sid’s reaction and slowly walked towards Eric.
Once Sid and Spike were looking up and down a few times, Matt couldn’t help but wonder why he was being looked at weird. “What?”
“Looks like twins to me.” Spike quickly spoke before Sid opened his mouth.
“Damn, they look so much alike. Chase, do you have Eric’s genetic file? I want you to compare Eric’s with…” Sid looked over towards Matt as if he was looking for his name. Matt looked at Spike who nodded in approval then back at Sid. “Matt.”
Chase didn’t wait for anything else, he quickly scanned Matt then brought up the readings on the view screen to compare them side by side.
“My god!” Chase was astonished at the exact match. “They definitely are an exact match, in fact, they’re brothers!”
Sid’s eyes grew wide again as Spike was in total disbelief. “That can’t be! We received a report saying his brother died in the process…” Spike stopped himself as he suddenly remembered the report, “That bastard! Too bad he’s dead; otherwise I’d have to kill him!”
While everyone was looking at the charts and looking back at Eric, Matt stayed at his side. He attempted a mind scan and surprisingly got through with little resistance. After spending several moments of going through several key points in his newfound brothers’ life, his eyes shot back open fast and he turned to face Chase who was still staring at the panels then back at Sid. “Hey Doc, Eric doesn’t have much longer to live. His life is in danger as he is slowly slipping away due to how bad he was wounded.”
“Aw shit.” Chase muttered as he scrambled to gather his kits so he could save Eric. Sid was furious at himself and at Eric at the same time. Spike shook his head, only because of what Sid had done. Spike suddenly realized something then walked towards Sid grabbing his shirt from the chest and pulling him straight into his face, “You damn well better pray this experimental serum works on Eric. I fear it might be too late, but do you have any idea of the hell we went through to try to capture BOTH boys?!”
“Perhaps you should have thought to send 2 or 3 council members rather one!” Sid shot back at spike in disgust.
“Matt! Give him the serum! Chances of survival are higher once he gets the injection. I only hope we are not too late!” Spike shot at Matt while looking at Sid then released his shirt with a shove and turned to watch.
Once Matt had the serum in his hands, he slowly reached down towards Eric and injected the Serum. Everyone was surprised Eric’s defenses didn’t go off on Matt like it did the first time.
“All we can do now is wait. The next 24 hours will be hell! Pray he survives, Sid! These two together are far more valuable to us than one of them.”
Sid growled inwardly, but held back the urge to insult Spike.
Doc Chase and Matt stayed to keep an eye on things while Spike and Sid left to attend a meeting. As they were exiting, Spike put his mask back on.
The Doc went over a few things and checked a few readings before heading into his office. Before he went in, he looked at Matt, “Keep watch over him, please, and…no scanning him. We won’t know what will happen if you do.”
Matt nodded then looked at Eric.
The silence in the room was broken by a moan coming from Eric. Matt heard the soft moan and decided to get off one of the other beds he was laying on. As he got closer, he could sense Eric trying to fight the effects of the serum, but transmitted several thoughts to him to let it take its course. While Matt was ‘communicating’ with Eric, he also scanned him. The scan took a while as Eric had so many happy memories before being taken to the future. Matt had to press deeper into Eric’s subconscious to find out more and came across a blur of images from a hospital room. He had found a distant memory of Eric and his birth, up to the time when Eric was tossed backwards to the current events. Over the years, Matt has had his fair share of abuse and like all twins; Eric had been scanning Matt’s memories as well. Once Matt had completed his scan, he almost lost his balance, as he felt drained. He had very little energy left and slowly made his way back to the bed he slept on and fell asleep once his head hit the cushion.
Little did Matt know, the Doc had been watching this entire incident.
Chase thought of nothing for a few minutes before looking back at the two sleeping boys. **I need to report my findings to the Council of Light…after these guys leave. No sense in risking getting my cover blown after all these years of ‘working’ for Sid. They will be pleased, especially Captain Bunker.** Chase turned the light off and drifted off to sleep in his chair.
The next 12 hours seemed to go by fast and Eric was waking up to a dimly lit med bay. At first he forgot where he was then suddenly remembered he was still on Sid’s ship and in the med bay. He felt weird, it was a new feeling he had never felt before. That and a familiar presence also filled the room. Eric looked around as he sat up in the med bed. He noticed a boy sleeping on another bed, not too far off to his left. Eric wasn’t sure what to make of the strange familiar feeling as he looked over the sleeping boy.
Eric jumped as Doc Chase broke the silence in the room. “Ah! I see you’re awake and alive! Oops, sorry about that, I didn’t mean to scare ya.”
Eric looked sad for a moment, then confused, “Why do I suddenly feel different, Chase? I feel as if I gained a new ability or something.”
Chase chuckled, “I think someone else can explain that to you.”
“Huh?” Eric wasn’t sure what he meant till he felt some warmth brushing his skin and a cool breeze that followed. He slowly turned his head to face a mirror image of himself, only to just stare in shock.
“Hi, I’m Matt, I’m sure you already knew that.” Matt said.
“Uhh….h…h…h…” Eric stuttered for a few minutes, still in shock, but managed to finally form words, “How? Mom thought you were gone and there were no leads…”
Matt interrupted Eric, “Time travel. I hope you didn’t mind me looking around in your head, but there is one important thing you need answered.”
“Yea, why do I feel different now?”
“You were injected with a serum that prolongs life and allows you to live longer than normal. On top of that, you heal faster, too. After the Doc fixed ya up, it seemed as if your body was about to give up after your defenses kicked in. We saw no other way, I’m sorry if you didn’t want to live forever, but…” Matt was interrupted by an echoing scream. It wasn’t any normal scream, but Eric screamed in his head as he thought it.
**NOOOOOOOOOO! FUCKING HELL NO!!!!!!!!! There’s no way I am being Sid’s slave FOREVER! NO! NO! NO!, I won’t!** Eric was in a state of panic, until he heard Matt’s voice in his head.
**It won’t be forever, bro. **
**You don’t understand! Sid is dangerous and I want to return to MY time! I don’t belong here! And neither do you! **
**It feels right here, I can do whatever I want! **
**You are full of it and you know it! What you don’t know is, my mind wanders. When you looked inside my head, I was also looking inside yours; there is a HUGE part of you that wants to return home. Mom will be so happy! You deserve to have a loving home, not here where you were only raised to fight, and for all the wrong things too! **
**What the hell makes you believe what I’ve been doing was ‘wrong’? Why don’t you show me! I bet you can’t! **
**Then free up your mind and I’ll damn well will show you! **
Eric closed his eyes and projected his thoughts towards the med bay, which changed the scenery of the entire room. Matt watched the battle Eric had recently with the Cast’ari, he saw everything, even the encounter with the white being. Eric quickly changed the scene after the meeting with the white being since he felt Matt became agitated. Eric then showed Matt what was in Sid’s head and everything he had done to Eric. Finally he changed thoughts and brought images of what was in the white being’s head. Once Eric was done, the images in the room began to slowly fade, returning the med bay to normal. He thought, **Well? Satisfied now? **
As Matt looked at Eric’s ability to project images into the entire room, his eyes widened then narrowed with rage once he saw the white being save Eric from being killed. Once the scene changed again, he gasped in horror, then tears, then rage and hate for Sid. Finally, once he saw the images of the white being once more, he tried not to show how much he hated them, but his expression changed once he saw something interesting that caught his attention. **Eric must have missed this part…** Matt shrugged it off and watched a few more till Eric stopped the projection.
Matt took some time taking in what he saw, **I’ll have to think about it, but I’ve seen enough. **
Chase had been observing the events, and took a big mental note of everything he witnessed and made sure to report any new developments to the Council of Light. He knew they will be even happier with the current events taking place. They had been hoping for this day to arrive, the day Eric and Matt would finally meet. Not only that, but also that Eric was changing Matt’s perspective on how he was trained.
The doors slid open and everyone looked to see who entered. Sid walked in first followed by Spike, who had his mask on, but was now taking it off.
“So damn remarkable, these two!” Sid was grinning from ear to ear. “I wonder if…”
Spike interrupted Sid with a smirk on his face, “Yes, let's put these two against each other. I’d like to see who was trained better!”
“All the better since everyone’s awake!” added Sid.
Eric and Matt looked at each other in shock and exchanged thoughts so Sid and Spike could not read them, **See what I mean? **
Matt groaned inwards, **Yea, but if we don’t, the punishment will be worse. **
Eric sighed then looked back at Spike and Sid, **If we have to. I’m sorry bro. **
Matt looked at Sid and Spike then nodded for their approval, **as am I, bro. **
Sid and Spike looked at each other and grinned a lot more with a hint of chuckle. “Well Sid, setup the place, and we’ll meet you there! Lead the way please!”
“As you wish, Spike.” Sid shifted his glare from Spike to Eric, “Eric, suit up! Its time to get to work! And you better hurry up!”
Chase was looking at Sid with crossed arms still believing Eric needed more rest, but he knew it was an argument he would never win. He threw his hands in the air and walked into the office as he heard Sid and Spike chuckle loudly as they departed the med bay along with Eric and Matt.
**Time to fill out a report. ** Chase sighed as he pulled out a white pad and began to record the recent events that took place.
The day shopping was long and tiring for everyone. The twins had to be carried around for half of the day as they were very bored. The Shannons found everything they needed and made several large purchases, all which would have caused a normal bank account to bounce.
Once everyone sat down in the living room, after Trish and Jerry put the twins on the bed to sleep before dinner, the doorbell rang.
“Oh jeez, can’t get a break after all that walking and shopping!” Jack muttered which earned him dirty looks from Trish and Joyce.
“While you’re complaining, why don’t YOU answer it?” Joyce sternly shot back at Jack.
As the doorbell rang once more, Jack stood up to stretch and then headed towards the door, “Sorry dear, I’m just…TIRED!”
As he opened it, his expression changed from tired, to confused. He shook his head, “Can I help you Detectives?”
Trish and Jerry immediately stood up and walked towards the door.
“We got it from here, Jack, thanks.” Trish quickly said as she invited the two detectives in.
Introductions were made once the detectives were in the living room. Trish and Jerry made sure Jack, Joyce, and Jason were to hear what the detectives had to say.
Detective Webb began, “We found very little, but bizarre information. I’m not even sure if I believe it myself or not, but I’ll get straight to the point. We have a witness who believed to have seen a person appear out of nowhere from a ripple that formed in thin air. The other part the very same witness saw was not only one but two people running at lightning fast speeds as if there was some sort of chase going on. She also witnessed a baby being thrown backwards as another ripple formed directly ahead of the escaping intruder, who we have assumed to be Matt’s kidnapper. Not only that, the person who appeared to only wear white, caught Eric in mid-air, then returned him.”
As Detective Webb finished his report, detective Foote chimed in, “In addition to that, during the night of the fire, several witnesses, who wish to not be revealed, saw some sort of craft take off then disappear into thin air and some sort of ‘whoosh’ sound followed. We can’t make heads or tails on what happened, but if it were true, I’d say your sons have been kidnapped by some sort of aliens.”
As Foote finished his sentence, everyone in the room was staring holes into the two detectives.
“That is some theory.” Jack said breaking the silence.
Webb began, “Well, I can see you folks have a hard time believing this, I would too, if I was in your shoes. We only do what we are paid to do and this is what we found.” He shook his head in disbelief, “I think its time we left since there aren’t answers to any of your questions.”
Everyone was staring blanks, so the two detectives saw themselves out the door. Once the door closed, Webb turned to Foote, “I think they know something we don’t know…then again, I don’t want to know. I’m a little freaked out after saying all that.”
“I agree, lets head to the bar, I’ll buy, you drive.” Foote and Webb walked towards their car and headed off to the bar.
Back in the living room everyone was staring open mouthed at everyone else, trying to get over the shocking developments. They planned on acting shocked, but there was no need for acting, as some of the news was indeed shocking, especially the part during the fire.
“Shall we order pizza?” Joyce looked at everyone in the room for a response and to lighten the mood.
There were several yay’s being said in the room and Joyce walked towards the phone to place an order.
Later that evening, everyone was tired and decided to turn in early.
Jason added a log entry into his journal before heading to bed.
What a day! First we go shopping for a house near here, which is great, then to various furniture stores which was kinda boring. I can’t believe the Shannons are moving back here since the fire. Something tells me it's their last move. I can’t wait.
The weird part of the day was how the two detectives reported their findings. I don’t know, something is bugging me about it. Maybe its just exhaustion talking, I am really tired right now.
Eric, where ever you are, do me a favor: please find your way home safe!
-Jason.
Author’s notes:
Chapter 6 is done! I am sure glad Eric turned out to be ok, and he finally got to meet his brother. I’m glad Matt was able to save Eric that was a close call! I don’t understand why Sid and Spike want them to fight each other, but one thing is for sure: Both boys hate the idea now that Eric had shown Matt everything in such short time. I hope this chapter resolves some of the cliffhangers I left for ya. I won’t end it in one this time, maybe the next I will! Stay tuned for ch7, there’s a chance to see both boys in action! Comments and thoughts welcome! E-mail me what ya think: Hammerps@yahoo.com
Thanks for the e-mail reminder, Taron! Special thanks to AC for hosting my story!
-Hammy {don't forget to put your e-mail addy in the comments and tell folks to drop ya a line!}
Editor #1:
Hey hammy interesting developments all around! Sorry it has taken me so long to edit this, I actually thought I had already for a while, then you reminded me I hadn't. Can't wait to see what happens and if the boys get home, hurry up with chapter 7!
Editor #2:
Wow, what a rollercoaster ride. Loving the new developments, and cannot wait to hear what happens next. While I am scared for the two boys, if they have to fight, I am sure they will not hurt each other too bad. Should be cool though, to see what they can do. Also, there were a few hints about ‘side effects’ of the serum? Hope they are cool, not like the side effects of steroids or anything. Well done Hammy. Great one.